Dave Ramsey Says People Will Pay More for Obamacare — It’s Simple Math

Kelsey Lucas /
October 19, 2013

When it comes to your position on Obamacare, financial guru Dave Ramsey says political parties don’t matter—only math.

“Your health insurance premiums are going to go way up,” Ramsey said on his Oct. 4 show. “They have to . . . it’s not a political statement. It’s that I know how to do math.”

Starting January 1, every health insurance company in America is required to take anyone as a customer, regardless of their health, and cannot charge them more. Before Obamacare, insurance companies charged “sick” people higher prices because they were receiving medical care more often. But Obamacare forces healthier (often younger) people to pay for that care. While Ramsey understands the moral underpinnings, he said it doesn’t change the math — you will be forced to pay more.

If your insurance has not gone up, your employer’s has, and he will likely pay for this by cutting expenses that directly affect you—something Ramsey calls a “pass through.”

“Employers aren’t going to pay for this,” Ramsey said. “They aren’t going to accept less profit. They’re going to cut expenses like not hire as many people or not give as many raises . . . you are going to pay for it.”

For those Americans who don’t have a job and rely on the government for help, you will not pay for it; the rest of America will, Ramsey said.

Make sure to watch the clip of Ramsey’s show above. He goes into more detail and explains how Obamacare will affect every American—party politics aside. Don’t have time to watch the whole video? He condenses his point about Obamacare’s mandates and penalties into about 40 seconds around 8:10:

Anytime you force you force everyone to be on the same playing field, you force income reallocation . . . regardless how you feel about it or what your moral imperative is, you still have the same net result mathematically.

The more we look into Obamacare, the more we realize that we’re being forced to do this. You don’t get the option of not participating. You are going to pay a fine. Your employer’s going to pay a fine. Your employer’s going to pay higher fees.